Baseball game device



Nov. 16, 1954 R. E. BAKER ,5

BASEBALL GAME DEVICE Filed Aug. 15, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR FoaE/PTE B44459,

WfiWM/ Cu r ATTORNEYS.

R. E. BAKER BASEBALL GAME DEVICE Nov. 16, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 15, 1952 INVENTOR ROEEFPT E. .3

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 2,694,574: BASEBALL GAME. DEVICE Robert E. Baker, Williamston, Mich.

Application August 15, 1952, Serial No. 304,562

2' Claims. (Cl. 273-89)" This invention. relates: to game devices, and more particularly to an. improved baseball game board apparatus.

A. main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved game board apparatus provided with means whereby the operations of pitching and batting a ball may be carried out on a small scale suitable for indoor play and in which scoring; operations may be carried on in a manner simulating the actual playing of an outdoor baseball game, the apparatus being simple in construction, being easy to operate, and providing; a substantial degree of amusement and entertainment to the players.

A further object, of the. invention to provide an improvedv baseball game board device which is; inexpensive tomanufacture, which is sturdy in construction, which is arranged to provide closev simulation to actual baseball plays and scoring situations, and which is relatively compact in size.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an improved baseball game board apparatus constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the apparatus of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary bottom plan view of a corner portion of the game board apparatus of Figure 1, showing the arrangement of the flexible cable element thereon.

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross sectional detail view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1 Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan detail view of the pitching element of the game board apparatus, showing a ball disposed in the pitching recess.

Figure 6 is an enlarged cross sectional detail view taken on the line 66 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a cross sectional view similar to Figure 6, but showing the ball-propelling spring in a released condition, with the ball about to be projected thereby toward the home plate position of the game board.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the structure shown in Figures 6 and 7.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the baseball game board apparatus diagonally opposite the home plate position of the board.

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 10-10 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the improved game board apparatus is designated generally at 11 and comprises a main rectangular playing board 12 provided with the upstanding marginal walls 13 and 14 of substantial height and with the opposing marginal walls 15 and 16 of lesser height, as shown in Figure 2. The board 12 is provided with a relatively thick. covering of soft cloth in the stippled areas designated respectively at 17, 18 and 19, defining the relatively depressed areas 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 in the outfield portion of the board, the base path portion 25, and the respective infield areas 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30, suitably marked off in the manner illustrated in Figure 1. The home plate position is designated at 31 and pivotally mounted at this position is the elongated bat member 32, shown in detail in Figure 4, said bat member 32 being mounted for swinging movement around a vertical pin 33 secured through the board 12 and supported on an annular bushing member 34, whereby the bat member 32 may be manually rotated around the. pivot pin 33: and may: be: swung over the home plate by a player. The area. 28: represents the pitching lane includes an aperture 35. formed in. the board; 12.. Secured to the under surface of' the board 12 is. a. leaf spring 36; which. is: provided with an up.- wardLy; curved; end. portion 37 which biased; by its resiliency to. a position facing; the: home plate position 31. The area 27 around the pitchers position is. covered with the above-mentioned. thick clot-h padding, as shown at 38, and said padiling. partiallyoverlaps: the opening 35; defining a. supporting. rest: for a ball 39 which. may be. disposed the aperture in the manner illustrated in Figure 6.

The? ball 39 is' providedwith a flattened. portion 40 sothat it will come to. rest and remain in a stationary position without excessive rollingon the game: boardafter being projected; thereon, as will be presently described, andi also to enable the pitching device to: curve the ball and; thus make; irmore: difficult to. hit the: ball squarely with the bat member 32.

Designated: at 41: is. a: rectangular plate member which is slidably' mounted on: the; board 12: rearwardly adjacent the aperture 35: for movement in a direction aligned with the home plate: position; 31,. the: plate member 41 being: formed: with. the longitudinally al igned slots' 42, 42 through which: extend. the retaining. screws. 43, 43, said screws: being engaged. in the board 12 to fasten the plate member 41 thereto but are arranged to. allow said plate. member to move; in. the direction: of the home. plate position 3.1.. As shown in Figures 6. and 7, the plate member 41 may be moved over the aperture 35 so. as to overlie the edge of the curved spring element 37 and to thus retain said spring element in a depressed position, as. shown in Figure-z 6.. When; the plate member 41 is moved rearwardly,. the: spring' element. 37- is released and may strike the ball 39 topropel the ball towardthe home plate: position 31..

The; board 12 is formedwith the respective apertures 44 and; 45 located adjacent the rear' end of' the plate member 41, the aperture 44 being generally V'-sha'ped', as shown. in- Figure. 8. Designated at 46, 4.6, are respective coilsprings connected at 47, to:- the; bottom surface of the board 1-2 and connected at their opposite ends to therearend portions of the plate member 4.1, the springs extending through the arms of the V-shaped aperture 44, as shown in Figure 8, and acting to bias the plate member 41 toward its position shown in Figure 6, namely, the position wherein its forward end overlies the aperture 35. Secured to the rear end of the plate member 41 is the flexible string 49, said string passing through the aperture 45 and extending through an eye member 50, as shown in Figure 3. The string 49 then extends laterally through an eye member 51 and emerges at the right side marginal portion of the board, as shown in Figure 1, a handle 52 being secured to the string so that it may be manually pulled by a player from the right side margin of the board, as viewed in Figure 1. It will be readily apparent that with the plate member 41 arranged in the manner shown in Figure 6, when the string 49 is pulled, the plate member 41 is withdrawn rearwardly, releasing the curved spring element 37, and allowing said spring element to strike the ball 39. The ball 39 is thus propelled toward the home plate position 31, and an opposing player may then attempt to strike the ball by rotating the bat member 32 as the ball proceeds' toward the batting position. To reset the pitching device, it is merely necessary to depress the curved spring element 37 and thus allow the springs 46. 46 to pull the plate member 41 forwardly into the overlapping position thereof shown in Figure 6, whereby the curved spring element 37 is retained in its depressed position until released by pulling on the string 49.

The rules for playing the game are similar to those in the conventional game of baseball and the depressed areas designate specific scoring or other situations when the ball settles in one of said depressed areas. Thus, when the ball settles in the areas 20, 21, 23 and 24, base hits are indicated, when the ball settles in the area 22 a home run may be indicated. The areas 20 and 24 may designate doubles and the areas 21 and 23 may designate triples. When the ball settles in the area 25,

the player may be entitled'to a single. When the ball settles in the area 26, the batter is out, and when the ball settles on one of the padded areas 17, 27 or 28 the batter is also out. The areas 29 and 30 designate bunting areas and when the ball settles therein it may represent a sacrifice hunt.

The high walls 13 and 14 are provided with padding 53 at their lower portions, and all batted balls hitting above the padding may be counted as doubles while all balls hitting the padding will remain in play and the scoring will be determined by the point at which the ball stops.

The marginal portions of the board adjacent the relatively low fence portions and 16 are marked off to designate foul areas and may include a plurality of areas, such as the areas 54 and 55 having different scoring significance. For example, the area 54 may represent caught fouls, whereby the batter is out when the ball rests in such an area, whereas the area 55 may merely represent foul strikes. Balls which are hit over the relatively high wall elements 13 and 14 are counted as home runs when in fair territory, namely, when they are within the foul lines 57, 57, as in the conventional game of baseball.

In playing the game, one player manipulates the bat 32 while the opposing player manipulates the handle 52. As above described, when the handle 52 is pulled, the pitching element 37 is released, causing the ball 39 to be propelled toward the home plate position, and the batter then attempts to strike at the ball. If the ball is hit, a baseball scoring situation may be produced, as above described.

While a specific embodiment of an improved baseball game board device has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A baseball game device comprising a rectangular unobstructed playing board, means on said board simulating a baseball field including a home plate and a pitchers position, said board being provided with a soft cover pad having spaced cut-out portions forming a plurality of depressed scoring areas and being provided with walls along its margin, said board being formed with an aperture only at said pitchers position, a leaf spring secured to the under side of the board and having an upwardly curved end arranged to project upwardly through said aperture and being biased toward said home plate, a retaining member slidably mounted on the board and being movable over the edge of said curved end to retain said curved end in a depressed position at times, spring means biasing said retaining member toward said upwardly curved end, flexible cable means connected to said retaining member for at other times disengaging said retaining member from the curved end of said leaf spring, and an elongated bat member pivotally mounted on said board adjacent said home plate.

2. A baseball game device comprising a rectangular playing board, means on said board simulating a baseball field including a home plate and a pitchers position, said board being provided with a relatively soft cover pad, said pad being cut away in a plurality of spaced areas thereover, to define alternating depressed scoring areas and padded areas, said board being provided with upstanding walls along its margin, said board being formed with an aperture at said pitchers position, a leaf spring secured to the under side of the board and having an upwardly curved end arranged to project upwardly through said aperture and being biased toward said home plate, a retaining member slidably mounted on the board, means guiding said retaining member for sliding movement toward and away from overlapping relationship with respect to the free edge of said curved end, whereby to retain said curved end in a depressed position at times, spring means connecting said retaining member to said board and biasing said retaining member toward said overlapping relationship with said curved end, flexible cable means connected to said retaining member and extending under the board for at other times disengaging said retaining member from the curved end of said leaf spring, and an elongated bat member pivotally mounted on said board adjacent said home plate for swinging movement around a vertical axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

